Bengali Hindus in Assam

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Bengalis of Assam
(আসামের বাঙালি হিন্দু)
Durga Puja Pandal in Assam.
Total population
6,022,677–7,502,012 (est. 2011)[1][2][3]
(19.3%–25% of the Assam's population)Increase
Regions with significant populations
Brahmaputra Valley4.5 - 5 Million
Barak Valley2 Million
Languages
Mother Tongue - Bengali and its dialects

2nd language - Assamese

Sacred language - Sanskrit
Religion
Hinduism

Primary:
Shaktism

Secondary:
Vaishnavism and Shaivism
Related ethnic groups
Bengali Hindus, Assamese Hindus
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Bengali Hindus are the second-largest Hindu community just after Assamese Hindus in Assam. As per as estimation research, around 6–7.5 million Bengali Hindus live in Assam as of 2011, majority of whom live in Barak Valley and a significant population also resides in Brahmaputra Valley. The Bengali Hindus are mostly native to the Barak Valley region.[4][1][2] Assam host the second-largest Bengali Hindu population in India after West Bengal.[5]

History[edit]

See also: Sylhet referendum

The Barak Valley region of comprising the present districts of Cachar, Karimganj and Hailakandi is contiguous to Sylhet (Bengal plains), where the Bengali Hindus, according to historian J.B. Bhattacharjee, had settled well before the colonial period, influencing the culture of Dimasa Kacharis.[6] Bhattacharjee argues that the Dimasa kings spoke Bengali and the inscriptions and coins written were in Sanskrit in Bengali script.[6] Migrations to Cachar increased after the British annexation of the region.[6] Bengalis in plains of Cachar valley were a significant, and sometimes dominant tribe/group/demographic for at least a period since the reign of Dhanya Manikya in the 15th century who hosted several Bengali Brahmin scholars in his court during his reign.[7] Bengalis have been living in Barak Valley for at least 1,500 years, settling there much earlier than the Koches, Dimasas and the Tripuris.[4] The Koches settled in Barak Valley in the 16th century, while the Dimasas settled in the late 16th - early 17th century A.D.[4]

After the annexation of Assam in 1826 A.D., the British encouraged the mass emigration of Bengali Hindus into Assam's mainland Brahmaputra Valley from the neighboring Bengal region in the first phase. This influx served to fill various roles within the colonial administration, including administrative workers, court officials, bankers, railway employees, businessmen, and bureaucrats. This was because, during that time, the Assamese population was largely uneducated, lacked experience, and had not been exposed to western english education, unlike the Bengali Hindus, who were regarded as educated, experienced and well-versed in western english education due to their earlier exposure to english education, thus making them more favorable and desirable candidates for various roles within the colonial administration set up.[8][9] Bengali Hindus migrated during the Partition of Bengal in 1947 and before the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 as refugees, in the second and third phases respectively.[10]

Culture[edit]

The culture of Bengalis in Assam is mainly influenced by a hybrid mixture of Assamese-Bengali culture and traditions. Bengalis specially living in Assamese-dominated Brahmaputra Valley/Assam Valley speaks Bengali as their mother tongue, but also speaks Assamese as their 2nd language and have got assimilated into mainstream Assamese society as "Greater Assamese society".[11] The Bengali identity as a whole, most particularly in Assam Valley is linguistic, while Bengali as an ethnic is considered as Assamese.[12]

Demography[edit]

Population[edit]

Assam has a large Bengali Hindu population as per as estimation research, but however different sources have varied estimation of Bengali Hindu population in Assam, as the census of India, does not allow religious segregation of languages spoken, it is very difficult to arrive at official estimates of a religious-linguistic matrix for the Assam state.[13] It has been said that Bengali Hindus are the third largest community in Assam after Assamese Hindus and Bengali Muslims (locally known as Miyas) with a population of 6 million approx, constituting 19.3% of state population as of 2011 census estimation figure by Assam government.[1]

Number of Bengali Hindus residing in Assam (2010-2019 est. research by various agencies)
Source/claimed by Population
Confusion, hope run high among Assam's Hindu Bengalis.[14] 5,000,000
Claimed KMSS leader Akhil Gogoi.[15] 10,000,000
Claimed AASU chief adviser Samujjal Bhattacharya.[15] 7,000,000-7,200,000
BJP government estimation.[16] 6,000,000
2016 Assam election assembly results.[17] 6,000,000
Claimed by NDTV[18] 5,620,000
Claimed by Morungexpress.[19] 6,400,000
Claimed by Assam Bengali Hindu organization (ABHO).[20] 6,500,000-7,200,000
Claimed by The All Assam Bengali Hindu Association (AABHA)[21] 7,802,000
Claimed by Times of India[22] 7,500,000
Claimed by Daily O News[23] 7,000,000
Claimed by The Wire[24] 5,900,000-7,500,000
Claimed by The News Web [18] 7,500,000
Claimed by The Hindu [25] 7,801,250

Geographical concentration[edit]

Barak Valley, a southern most Bengali majority region of Assam

They are highly concentrated in the Barak Valley region where they a form a slide majority and the population of Bengali Hindus in Barak Valley is 20 lakh, constituting 50% of the total population of the region.[26][27][28]

Map representing Assamese majority Brahmaputra valley region of Assam

In Assam's Brahmaputra valley region, there is no real data for Bengali Hindu population available through census, but it is just assumed that region Brahmaputra valley have around "40 Lakh Bengali Hindus" as per as New president of the All Assam Bengali Youth Students Federation (AABYSF), Mahananda Sarkar Dutta who have stated the above demographic statement.[29]

Social issues[edit]

Immigration[edit]

Main article: East Bengali refugees
(East Pakistan's Bengali Hindus of Sylhet Division coming to Barak's Cachar district as refugees, 1947)

Since after partition of Bengal in 1947 there were large scale Bengali migration into Assam. Between the period of first patches (1946-1951), around 274,455 Bengali Hindu refugees have arrived from what is now called Bangladesh (former East Pakistan) in various locations of Assam as permanent settlers and again in second patches between (1952-1958) of the same decade, around 212,545 Bengali Hindus from Bangladesh took shelter in various parts of the state permanently.[30][31] After the 1964 East Pakistan riots many Bengali Hindus have poured into Assam as refugees and the number of Hindu migrants in the state rose to 1,068,455 in 1968 (sharply after 4 years of the riot).[32] The fourth patches numbering around 347,555 have just arrived after Bangladesh liberation war of 1971 as refugees and most have decided to stay back in Assam afterwards.[33]

Politics and discrimination[edit]

See also: Bongal Kheda and Anti-Bengali sentiment in India



Bangali Hindus are being targeted by xenophobic Assamese nationalist organization and political party from time to time. In the context of linguistic politics in Assam, Bengalis are discriminatively tagged as "Bongal" (outsiders), which is derogatory and a racial slur.[34][35][36][37] Bengali Hindus living in Assam from decades before Bangladesh was born in 1971 are routinely called 'Bangladeshis' as because antipathy towards Bengalis is prime mover of Assam politics since the formation of All Assam Students Union. Bengali Hindus are being victimized due to D voter policy in the state as according to Sudip Sarma, the publicity secretary of the Assam unit of the Nikhil Bharat Bangali Udbastu Samanway Samiti, there are 6 lakh Bengali Hindu D voters in the state.[38] Thousands of Bengalis are being held in Detention Camps. As far as NRC is concerned in the state, 40 lakhs names have been kept out from the second draft of NRC, out of which 12 lakhs were Bengali Hindus.[39] The CAA bill which was passed at 2019 December have promised to give citizenship to Bengali refugees living in the state living in Assam prior to 1971.[40][41] In January 2019, the Assam's peasant organisation Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti (KMSS) claimed that there are around 2 million Bangladeshi Hindus in Assam who would become Indian citizens if the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill is passed. BJP, however claimed that only eight lakh Hindu Bangladeshis will get citizenship.[42] The number of Hindu immigrants from Bangladesh in Barak Valley has varied estimates. According to the Assam government, 1.3-1.5 lakh such people residing in the Barak Valley are eligible for citizenship if the Citizenship Amendment Act of 2019 becomes a law.[43][44] During Bongal Kheda (chased out Bengali) movement lakhs of Bengali Hindus were forcefully displaced from Assam and they subsequently took refugee in West Bengal, Barak valley and Tripura. According to an estimate, roughly 500,000 Bengalis have left Assam, and thousands were killed in Goreswar, Khoirabari, Silapathar, and North Kamrup following attacks from radical Assamese nationalist mobs and the All Assam Students Union during the 1980s and 1960s.[45]

1960s Assam language riots[edit]

See also: Assam Movement, Assamese Language Movement, Bengali Language Movement (Barak Valley), and Barak state movement


In Assam's, Assamese dominated Brahmaputra Valley region Bongal Kheda movement (which literally means drive out Bengalis) was happened in the late 1948-80s, where several thousands of Hindu Bengalis was massacred by jingoists Assamese nationalists mob in various parts of Assam and as a result of this jingoist movement, nearly 5 lakh Bengali Hindus were forced to flee from Assam to take shelter in neighbouring West Bengal particularly in Jalpaiguri division in seek for safety.[46][47][48] In the Bengali dominated Barak Valley region of Assam, violence broke out in 1960 and 1961 between Bengali Hindus and ethnic Assam police over a state bill which would have made Assamese mandatory in the secondary education curriculum. On 19 May 1961, eleven Bengali protesters were killed by Assam police fired on a demonstration at the Silchar railway station.[49][50][51] Subsequently, the Assam government allowed Bengali as the medium of education and held it as an official position in Barak Valley.[50]

Statehood demand[edit]

Main article: Barak state movement
Barak Valley district map

The native Bengali people of Barak Region demanded a separate state for themselves within the Bengali majority areas of Assam, particularly Bengali majority Barak valley, comprising the three districts Cachar, Hailakandi, Karimganj, to meet the criteria for creating a separate state for themselves by carving out from Assam's Assamese majority Brahmaputra valley post NRC.[52][53][54][55] Silchar is the proposed capital of Barak state.[56] Barak valley is the most neglected part of Assam in terms of its infrastructure development, tourism sector, educational institutions, hospitals, IT industries, G.D.P, H.D.I etc. which is still lagging behind in comparison to the Assam's mainland Brahmaputra valley which have access to all of those facilities mentioned above.[57][58][59][60][61][62] In fact, the Southern most region of Assam that is Barak Valley have an overwhelming Bengali majority population of about (80.8%) as per 2011 census report respectively.[63][64]

Occupation[edit]

Bengali Hindus control around half of the state's business. Most of the sweets store, jewellery businesses, books stores and cosmetic stores are owned by them. Many of the well known teachers, accountants, engineers, high level officials and government employees are from the community. A few of them are also engaged into low level works.[65]

Notable personality[edit]

  • Priyadarshini Chatterjee, is an Indian model and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Femina Miss India World in 2016.[66] She represented India at the Miss World 2016 pageant.[67][68][69] She is the first Indian Bengali women from Dhubri district to represent India at Miss World.
  • Devoleena Bhattacharjee, is an Indian actress from the Indian state of Assam, was born into a Bengali Hindu family in upper Assam.
  • Jaya Bhattacharya, is an Indian television actress born and brought up in Guwahati, Assam into a Bengali Hindu family.
  • Parimal Suklabaidya, is an Indian politician BJP (MLA) born into a Bengali Hindu family in Barak valley region of Assam.
  • Gautam Roy, is an Indian politician born in the Indian state of Assam's Barak valley region into a Bengali Hindu Family.
  • Sushmita Dev, is an Indian politician from congress party born and brought up in Assam's Barak Valley region into a Bengali Hindu family.
  • Dipankar Bhattacharjee, is an Indian Badminton player from Assam, born and brought up in Assam into a Bengali Hindu family.
  • Santosh Mohan Dev, was a congress political leader and key member of the party was born and brought up in Assam into a Bengali Hindu family. His family was also belonged to freedom fighter lineage.
  • Debojit Saha, is an Indian playback singer born and brought up in Assam's Barak valley into a Bengali Hindu family.
  • Jaya Seal, was a renowned actress and dancer, born and brought up in Assam into a Bengali Hindu family.
  • Seema Biswas, is an Indian film and theatre actress from Assam, born and brought up into a Bengali Hindu family from Assam.
  • Amalendu Guha, (30 January 1924 – 7 May 2015) was an historian, economist, and poet from Assam, India. He is born to a Bengali Hindu family.
  • Rumi Nath, Rumi Nath is an Indian politician and was a member of Assam Legislative Assembly, was born into a Bengali Hindu family.
  • Ramkrishna Ghosh, a BJP MLA from Hojai.
  • Kalika Prasad Bhattacharya, singer who was born and brought up in Assam's Barak valley into a Bengali Hindu family.
  • Radheshyam Biswas, former member of Lok Sabha), AIUDF, who was born and brought up in Assam's Barak valley into a Bengali Hindu family.
  • Karnendu Bhattacharjee, ex-MP of Rajya Sabha, Indian National Congress
  • Rajdeep Roy, Member of Lok Sabha, Silchar
  • Kripanath Mallah, Member of Lok Sabha, Karimganj
  • Gautam Roy, Ex Minister, Assam
  • Pritam Das, Cricketer
  • B. B. Bhattacharya, former Vice-Chancellor, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi
  • Sushmita Dev Leader, All India Trinamool Congress

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "EXCLUSIVE: BJP Govt plans to evict 70 lakh Muslims, 60 lakh Bengali Hindus through its Land Policy (2019) in Assam". SabrangIndia. 5 December 2019. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
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  4. ^ a b c "The Assam narrative~II". The Statesman. 13 January 2020.
  5. ^ "Every 5th Bengali speaker lives outside Bengal". The Times of India. 28 June 2018.
  6. ^ a b c Baruah, Professor of Political Studies Sanjib; Baruah, Sanjib (29 June 1999). India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 103. ISBN 978-0-8122-3491-6.
  7. ^ Chadha, Vivek (4 March 2005). Low Intensity Conflicts in India: An Analysis - Vivek Chadha - Google Books. SAGE Publications India. ISBN 9788132102014. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
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  9. ^ https://thewire.in/politics/the-economic-basis-of-assams-linguistic-politics-and-anti-immigrant-movements--
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  12. ^ "'Bengali' in Assam is linguistic identity, not ethnic one: Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma - Sentinelassam". 31 May 2023.
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  15. ^ a b "Citizenship Amendment Act: BJP chasing ghosts in Assam; Census data shows number of Hindu immigrants may have been exaggerated". Firstpost. 18 December 2019.
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  25. ^ "Former officers' plea to respect diversity of Barak Valley". The Hindu. 27 August 2019.
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  30. ^ India (1951). "Annual Arrival of Refugees in Assam in 1946–1951". Census of India. XII, Part I (I-A): 353 – via web.archive.org.
  31. ^ http://iussp2005.princeton.edu › ...PDF The Brahmaputra valley of India can be compared only with the Indus ...[Link to precise page]
  32. ^ "iussp2005". iussp2005.princeton.edu. Archived from the original on 22 April 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  33. ^ "Adelaide Research & Scholarship: Home". digital.library.adelaide.edu.au. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
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  41. ^ Bhalla, Abhishek (14 December 2019). "Citizenship Amendment Act creates more confusion for Bengali Hindus in Assam". India Today.
  42. ^ "20 lakh Bangladeshi Hindus to become Indians if Citizenship Bill is passed: Krishak Mukti Sangram Samiti". The Economic Times. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
  43. ^ Naqvi, Sadiq (11 December 2019). "Bengali Hindu refugees in Assam's Barak Valley hope for CAB's passage in RS". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 7 December 2020.
  44. ^ "Citizenship Amendment Bill protests: Here's why Assam is burning".
  45. ^ Bhaumik, Subir (2008). Samir Kumar Das (ed.). Blisters on their Feet (PDF). Sage. p. 303. ISBN 978-81-7829-819-1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
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  49. ^ Baruah, Sanjib (1999). India Against Itself: Assam and the Politics of Nationality. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 105. ISBN 0-8122-3491-X. The most notorious 'language riots' in Assam were in 1960 and 1961, before and after the passing of the Official Language Bill by the state Assembly ... There were violent conflicts between ethnic Assamese and Hindu Bengalis ... On the Bengali side, for instance, Paritosh Pal Choudhury's book Cacharer Kanna (The Cry of Cachar) has a frontispiece with pictures of eleven garlanded dead bodies of people killed in 1961 as a result of police firing on a demonstration in support of Bengali in Silchar.
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  51. ^ Ganguly, M. (20 May 2009). "All for love of language". The Telegraph. Ranchi. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 30 November 2010.
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  56. ^ "Silchar - Assam". www.east-himalaya.com.
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  58. ^ Desk, Sentinel Digital (27 December 2016). "Barak organization demands creation of separate state - Sentinelassam". www.sentinelassam.com.
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  64. ^ "2011 Census data". censusindia.gov.in.
  65. ^ "Confusion, hope run high among Assam's Hindu Bengalis". 17 December 2019.
  66. ^ "Miss World India 2016 Priyadarshini Chatterjee: 5 lesser-known facts". Indian Express. 18 December 2016.
  67. ^ "Priyadarshini Chatterjee is Femina Miss India 2016". The Kaleidoscope Of Pageantry. Retrieved 25 April 2016.
  68. ^ "Guwahati Girl Priyadarshini Chatterjee Wins Coveted Femina Miss India Title". Retrieved 14 May 2016.
  69. ^ "Priyadarshani Chatterjee bags the coveted Femina Miss India World 2016 crown!". www.hindustantimes.com. HindustanTimes. 11 April 2016.
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